Naples PAC lobbies for ballot question on local ethics commission

A newly formed Naples political action committee is lobbying for a referendum on February’s municipal ballot that would poll voters on the creation of a local ethics commission governing conduct for city officials.

A voter-approved amendment to the Naples charter would give the proposed five-member volunteer ethics board and Office of Ethics and Government Integrity the power to investigate complaints against local officials and oversee sweeping changes to Naples ethics laws.

Similar to the Florida Commission on Ethics, which handles issues regarding public officials throughout the state, the commission could subpoena witnesses, audit records and punish officials for ethical violations.

The proposal from the Naples Ethics PAC would install the first local ethics commission in the city's history. The Naples City Council considered a commission during discussions on the Naples ethics code last year but ultimately rejected the idea.

Vice Mayor Linda Penniman had called for stricter enforcement of Naples ethics laws following Naples Daily News reporting on a potential conflict of interest involving one of her colleagues, Councilman Sam Saad.

Without a clear local process for handling ethical issues regarding Naples elected officials, Penniman in April filed a complaint against Saad with the state ethics commission. The complaint is pending.

John Lehmann, vice president of the Naples Ethics PAC, said his group didn’t form directly in response to Saad’s ethics complaint, but he said the matter has “dragged on for a year.”

“All this could have been rapidly and effectively resolved if Naples had a workable local process,” Lehmann said.

Lehmann said his group formed out of the concern from last year when the council signaled its support for eliminating the Naples ethics code and replacing it with less-strict language in state law that governs all of Florida’s elected officials.

The council later agreed to keep the Naples ethics code, but some council members said the city should permit harsher penalties for ethics violators. City Attorney Bob Pritt said the maximum penalty for Naples ethics violations, under the current code, is a $500 fine or 60 days in jail.

“The Naples code is extremely complex,” Lehmann wrote in an email. “For example, there are at least 5 different offices where one might file a complaint, and little clarity on exactly who would investigate and how that investigation would be governed. A modern ethics office provides a single place and procedure for receiving and handling complaints.”

According to the PAC’s proposal, the commission would also draft an amendment to the Naples ethics code within 180 days of its forming. An ethics administrative staff, including an executive director, would require funding from the city.

The PAC’s proposal has the support of at least three Naples council members, according to the PAC’s website, including Penniman, Councilman Reg Buxton and Mayor Bill Barnett.

“Should there be a breach of the public’s trust, there must be a local, independent and confidential commission in place to handle those concerns,” said Penniman, whose husband, Nick Penniman, is president of the PAC’s board of directors.

Lehmann said Nick Penniman’s position is unpaid. The PAC is yet to file monthly financial reports with the city, but Lehmann said the group has raised more than $26,000 and paid roughly $20,000 to lawyers helping draft their proposal and to the PAC’s executive director, Ray Christman.

To qualify its ballot question, Lehmann said the PAC must first collect signatures on a petition totaling at least 10 percent of the city’s roughly 14,500 registered voters from the last election, or about 1,450 signatures.

With enough support, the referendum is placed on a ballot for voters to consider for final approval.

The ballot question would read, “Shall the Charter of the City of Naples be amended to establish an independent ethics commission, set minimum requirements for the ethics code, and establish an ethics office?”

If his group gets its required signatures by Nov. 15, the referendum could be placed on the ballot for the City Council election on Feb. 6, Lehmann said.

Otherwise, the referendum would require a special election.

Read or Share this story: https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/government/2017/10/30/naples-pac-lobbies-ballot-question-local-ethics-commission/812643001/

From The USA TODAY NETWORK

These sites are part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Their content is produced independently from our newsrooms.